Meridian Unveils Social Learning Module as Part of New LMS Meridian Unveils Social Learning Module as Part of New LMS

(April 17, 2012)

HERNDON, VA -- (Marketwire) -- 04/17/12 -- Meridian Knowledge Solutions' new version of its learning management system now includes Meridian Social, an array of online tools for extending informal learning across an organization. The Meridian Global LMS, which delivers and analyzes the impact of online learning, is part of Meridian's human-capital software platform.

"Ninety percent of Internet users spent time on social networking sites in December 2011(1), and we want to help organizations extend that usage toward learning too," said Vinay Nilakantan, director of product development and research for Meridian. "We also want our customers to understand the strategies and benefits of social learning. With our expertise and technology platform, we can assist our clients to make the leap toward using the social learning tools that work best for their organization."

The social module that is part of Meridian's new LMS enables customers to integrate discussion forums, wikis, blogs, document sharing and chat within the learning management system's collaboration spaces -- the areas learners can use to share know-how or discuss courses they have taken. From within the new version of Meridian's LMS, learners can also post comments and links about courses, videos or podcasts to Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn for their networks to share and discuss.

Tailoring Learning Meridian's new LMS also includes an "assignment engine" for administrators to tailor blocks of learning based on more than two dozen parameters including a learner's seniority, job title, location, language and training experience. When newly hired employees gain access to the LMS, the assignment engine can automatically put together a learning plan customized for each worker.

Once organizations have delivered education to learners, it's critical to measure the results. Meridian's team has upgraded the learning management system's "ad hoc reporting," so administrators can tap into the Meridian Global LMS to build a report based on what the organization needs. "Most LMS vendors claim to have ad hoc reporting," remarked Nilakantan. "But, in most cases, users still have to go to their LMS vendor to ask for technical assistance to create a report tailored to the needs of their employer. We want our customers to not have that dependency."

Conforming with SCORMThe 2012 version of Meridian's LMS is also one of the few systems in the industry that has adopted the Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) 2004 4th edition, an e-learning initiative sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) Initiative. SCORM helps vendors enable the interoperability of content.

"Given our large Defense Department and federal government footprint, we want to ensure our customers can take advantage of the latest from SCORM," added Nilakantan.

About MeridianMeridian Knowledge Solutions is the #1-rated human-capital management company for customer loyalty, with a documented customer retention rate of 98 percent. Meridian provides integrated solutions for over 350 clients with 8.5 million active users including AutoZone, Bell Helicopter, CSX Corporation, J.B. Hunt Transport Services, Inc., Panera Bread, Sunrise Senior Living, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, and more than 80 federal, state and local governments. Meridian takes a unique approach to tailor every solution to exact client needs. Meridian asks the right questions, listens and molds its solution to fit its customers' unique requirements. Meridian offers SaaS, private cloud or on-premise deployments.